Tech Avant-Garde (TAG), technology powered Ed-Tech company, has become the first company in Indian education sector to partner with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) for the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS), a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) conceptualized system, for online payment of fees in schools and other educational institutions. Due to the pandemic educational institutions are experiencing two issues – one is to transform their teaching learning process the other is the fee collection process. TAG fostered Efeeonline is collaborating with Bharat Bill Pay System (BBPS) to enable digital fee payments. Efeeonline is a bespoke management system, which helps educational institutions to transform their legacy manual fee collection system to a digital system. The fees can now be paid from anywhere, any place or on any device.

Today about 18,000 schools are uploaded on this platform for fees collections. TAG has an MOU with NISA (National Independent School Alliances), which has 55,000 school as its Members; and TRESMA (Telangana Private School Association), which has 9,000 Members Schools. The above associations have mandated TAG to transform their member schools into a Connected Learning Community (CLC) vision of UNESCO. TAG and ICICI Bank, Axis Bank are collaborating to give unique solutions to schools.

To mark this momentous occasion, TAG, a Global Training Partner of Microsoft in Education, announced FREE Digital Classroom training for school teachers anywhere in India. They want to go on this website and register on https://knowledgekey.foundation/knowledge-lavenir-conclave-registration/ or call 09483114422 or E-mail [email protected]. All schools whose teachers who undergo Digital Transformation will get CARTE BLANCHE graduation certificate.

TAG is helping the Government of India in its efforts to promote digital classrooms, digital payment mode throughout the country through the BBPS mechanism for enabling contactless and digital payments through NPCI’s integrated, accessible and interoperable recurring payments services to consumers and parents via digital bank channels as well as through a network of agents and bank branches. One single step of onboarding on BBPS makes any school discoverable and accessible on all BBPS enable channels, including BHIM, UMANG, Banks website, all major UPI enabled Apps and Wallets. This enables parents to pay education fee easily from their preferred Banks/Mobile Apps/Wallets.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) vide Circular no. CBSE/SECY/SPS/2016 has issued directions to the affiliated schools regarding collection of fees from students only online or through non-cash mode. Hence, all schools affiliated with the Board are advised to on-board on BBPS for to enable, safe easy and contactless digital payment of school fees.

Ali Sait, CEO, Tech Avant-Garde, says, “As a thought-leader, pioneer and leader, we have taken the lead in partnering with NPCI and leading banks such as ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and RBL Banks to give unique solutions to schools and parents. TAG fostered LYCEE as a Connected Learning Community (CLC) solution to empower different stakeholders of education such as schools, teachers, parents, students and community. We also fostered Efeeonline to give relief to the parent and the educational institution by delivering a multimode fee payment service. The educational institutions can subscribe to this service and extend the facility to the parents. These initiatives are part of our Digital Transformation & Holistic Learning program to make Indian schools and teachers future-ready and 21^st Century compliant.”

World record breaking feat: On 5th September, TAG started the record-breaking Knowledge L’avenir Conclave (KLC) webinars in association with Microsoft, Knowledge Key Foundation, LYCEE Corp, Efeeonline and Roshini Social Schooling. Th­e largest congregation of teachers (5,000) took a ‑first-of-its-kind test and 3,750 of them became Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) certified in a single day (27th September)! Till 30^th November, they will train 150,000 teachers from 72,000 schools with a student-teacher-parent population of 7.6 crore. Ali Sait-advocated ‘Carte Blanche’ schools are the new gold standard in delivery of virtual education and early adopters of the Digital Transformation and Holistic Learning Program. Th­e 4Cs of diamond equivalent of digital classroom teaching-learning in the future are the Change, Connected Learning Community, Conclave (Knowledge L’avenir Conclave) and Carte Blanche Graduation; and Certification for School teachers. TAG unveiled NEP-compliant Learning Management System (LMS) software called AZVASA, which helps teachers with STUDY, REVISE & ASSESSMENT modules. AZVASA Connect is a complete School Management Solution having Teacher – Student – Parent Connect in one platform. Schools undergoing Digital Training & Holistic Learning program to make the school & teachers future-ready, will be graduated in a ceremony is called Carte Blanche 2020 to a ‘Connected Learning Community’, which is a utopian concept and Shangri-La of education.

TAG fostered Lycee Corp to meet the needs of every educational institution to transform from the four walls of the classroom to a Connected Learning Community (CLC). In CLC, students, educators and parents have anytime, anyplace access to learning; Learning is relevant, individualized and personalized; Schools have information systems that support accountability and efficient management; Schools, campuses, homes, libraries, businesses and global resources are connected in a dynamic, collaborative learning environment. It’s 2020 Vision of UNESCO. The product Lycee- Cyber Academe was developed under the fostering program of Tech Avant-Garde. From the stable of Lycee Corp, Roshini launched Efeeonline-Bespoke Fee management system for educational institutions. Now, Efeeonline has a co-sell program with Microsoft called MASP Pro. Efeeonline has the following facilities: The ERP Platform: Using this facility the fees formats, receipts, dues and reports could be generated. Parents Dashboard: parents can pay the fees, get the fee receipts and can track the dues using this facility. Which is available online and as a mobile app on IOS and Android. E-Governance: Using this facility, the school administration can do realtime tracking of the online fee collection and settlements. Efeeonline is also available on Microsoft Aspire School Program offering as MASP PRO. This is a value-based offering, which has dual advantage – it enables digital teaching learning process and is also enables digital fee collections